Madras HC orders four-week stay on govt’s cattle order

THE CENTRE SAID IT WAS EXAMINING THE POINTS RAISED BY STATES, INCLUDING KERALA AND WEST BENGAL

CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: The Madras high court suspended on Tuesday a controversial central government rule that outlawed sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets and triggered a political storm in India.

Even as the court ordered a four-week stay on the notification, the Centre said it was examining the points raised by states, including Kerala and West Bengal, which call the order an attack on India’s federal structure.

The government, however, denied trying to restrict food habits of the people through the notification that has led to protests.

Congress activists in Kerala killed a cow in a public square on Saturday, an act that sparked outrage. A PhD scholar who participated in a campus beef festival at IIT-Madras was allegedly assaulted by students on Tuesday, police said.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been pushing for a countrywide ban on cow slaughter. Critics say the rule — banning the sale of cows, bulls, bullocks, buffaloes, steers, heifers, calves, and camels for slaughter — violates individual rights and will hurt cattle and meat traders.

“The slaughtering of animals for food, the food and culinary (items) made out of such animal flesh and offering sacrifice of animals are part of cultural identity of most communities in India, protected under the Constitution,” the petitioners told the Madurai bench of the high court..